Tea Workers Protest Bush Uprooting at Duamara Estate for Areca Nut Farming

Workers at the Duamara tea estate near Doomdooma staged a two-hour sit-in demonstration on Saturday, protesting what they allege is the illegal uprooting of tea bushes to make way for areca nut and ginger cultivation.

The agitation was carried out in collaboration with the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATTSA).

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Jogyeswar Nanda, Secretary of the ATTSA's Doomdooma branch, who participated in the protest, alleged that the tea estate's newly appointed manager had begun uprooting tea bushes in a section of the garden without consulting the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), the tea workers, or ATTSA.

He said the move was a clear violation of the lease agreement that tea companies are required to maintain with the Government of Assam.

The workers are concerned that converting tea-growing land to other agricultural use not only threatens their livelihoods but sets a damaging precedent for the region's tea industry.